Former prime minister Ehud Barak sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, saying he was “possessed” by a “nationalist spirit” that posed a threat to Israel’s future. Speaking at a publicity event for a new book by former military intelligence chief Shlomo Gazit, Barak said that Netanyahu’s right-wing ideology endangered Israel’s existence. “The nationalist spirit of the leaders of the right, chief among them Netanyahu, is the central threat today to Israel’s future, its identity, its cohesiveness, and its strength,” Barak said. […] Barak also accused Netanyahu and members of his government of exploiting the recent wave of fires,...

Barack as Loki I sure jacked you up, didn't I, Amrika? My program is 'get-even-with-them-ism', even against those who never did 'my people' (Kenyans) any harm--not that I ever cared about 'my people'. But I still expect you to honor me with the laurels of power, otherwise, how can I be the superior of the Presidents prior to 44, if I'm not accorded equal honor, even if I despised the honors. I was the spawn of ice giants, who have no 'sons'. In the house of Odin, I came up knowing sonship, but only by adoption. I craved the...

Israelâ€™s Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) conducted today the first full system flight and intercept test of the Barak 8 missile system developed jointly by Israel and India. Upon the completion of the system verification test series, Barak 8 is expected to achieve initial operational capability next year. The test was conducted from the Israel Navy SAAR 5 missile corvette INS Lahav, the first Israeli vessel to be equipped with the new air and missile defense system. The scenario began with the launch of a target, representing a reference threat. The MF-STAR on INS LAHAV detected the...

The Barak 8 is a long range surface to air missile NEW DELHI: When the Indian Navy commissioned its most-advanced warship eight months ago, the INS Kolkata was missing its primary weapon system - the Barak 8 long range surface to air missiles, 32 of which were meant to be carried onboard in ready-to-fire mode. NDTV has learned that the Barak 8 missile has cleared all its tests and is ready for induction. The missile, designed to intercept incoming anti-ship missiles at a range of at least 70 kilometres, has been made in partnership with Israel, where it has successfully...

NEW DELHI - The new Indian government under Narindra Modi’s leadership is moving the cabinet committee on security (CCS) to buy 262 Barak-I anti-ship missile systems and spares, costing nearly Rs. 1,000 crore, from Israel. The purchase was cleared by defence acquisition council under former defence minister AK Antony last December. Defence Ministry sources said the CCS note was moved this week for the purchase of the Barak missile from Israeli Aircraft Industries and Rafael Advanced Systems of Israel. Both firms were probed by the CBI in 2006 for a Rs. 1,100 crore missile deal in 2000 under the previous...

February 08, 2014: Delayed by over four years, but this one is truly better late than never. In what will be a significant boost to the Indian Navy’s quest for a credible air defence system deployable on its frontline vessels and aircraft carriers, the Indo-Israeli long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system will be tested in a naval configuration towards the end of this year, reveals the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chief Dr Avinash Chander. The missile underwent a first test from a land launcher in 2010, and has since been tested an unspecified number of times. The collaborative programme,...

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to visit the Jewish state in April to boost cooperation between the two countries, Israel's defense ministry said on Wednesday. "Minister (Moshe) Yaalon congratulated Defense Secretary Hagel on his appointment and on his intention to visit Israel next month," in a telephone conversation, the ministry said in a statement, as reported by the AFP news agency. The statement quoted Hagel as saying that he "felt high about the security and strategic relations between the two countries" and wanted "strengthening of cooperation between the two defense systems." Yaalon also expressed a desire to further improve...

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference next Monday, it has been confirmed. His speech comes just ahead of President Obama's anticipated visit to Israel later in the month and amid renewed concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The 2013 conference, which will be held March 3-5, in Washington, D.C., will also feature addresses by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, House of Representatives, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), House of Representatives Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD),...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday abruptly announced he was quitting politics, injecting new turmoil into the Israeli political system weeks ahead of general elections. Barak, Israel's most-decorated soldier and one-time prime minister, said he would stay on in his current post until a new government is formed following the Jan. 22 balloting.

Tensions between Israel and the current U.S. administration further deteriorated last week when President Barack Obama refused to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to New York, where he will address the UN General Assembly. The White House insisted that the meeting would not take place due to the president’s pressing “campaign obligations” which would take him out of New York. Obama has further snubbed Israeli leaders by refusing to meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who will also be in New York next week, WND news station reported.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday that Israel will soon need to reach decisions regarding Iran. Speaking during a graduation ceremony at the National Security College, Barak said, “The State of Israel is facing some of the most complex challenges which its security and political leadership has ever had to face. “We may be required to make difficult decisions concerning the national security of Israel and ensuring its future,” he said. ... .....

Monday morning's attack by terrorists against Israeli workers building the security fence on the southern border is further evidence of the increasing failure of Egyptian security efforts in Sinai, said Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Speaking at a meeting of his Atzma'ut faction, Barak said that several recent events, including Grad rocket attacks against Israel over the weekend, meant that Egypt needed to do more to fulfill its international obligations. “We see Monday's attack as a very serious incident,” Barak said. “It comes in the wake of an incident on Shabbat in which two Grad rockets were fired into southern Israel...

THE DEAD BABY MEDIA If the text on that one is too small for you, it's a CNN piece headlined, "Why the Syrian regime is killing babies." There's not much to add to that. The Syrian regime may be killing babies, but CNN killed journalism. With some help from the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. Anyone who has spent time in the Middle East knows quite well that parading around dead bodies is part of the Muslim ceremony of rallying for the next attack. These aren't funerals, these are corpse parades and the corpses are often...

MK Danny Danon (Likud) spoke to Arutz Sheva while attending a rally at Homesh this week at the head of a delegation from the World Likud. "Today, we are thousands of people from the Likud movement from all over the world, in Homesh," Danon told Arutz Sheva. We are here "to tell the Prime Minister to get back to Homesh, to let Jews live here in Homesh, to erase the disgraceful decision that pulled Jews out from Homesh," he explained. "I am also calling on the Prime Minister to take a brave decision to remove Defense Minister Ehud Barak from...

America's constitutional structure is built on checks and balances. The idea behind these checks and balances is simple: We want interest counteracting interest, ego counteracting ego. We don't want any one person to gain too much power -- or any one faction or any one way of thought. Gridlock, for lack of a better word, is good. President Barack Obama, however, has a different idea. He believes that America must be fundamentally transformed. That fundamental transformation cannot be effectuated without a fundamental transformation of the system of American government. The most important part of that transformation is the elevation of...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran, a senior Israeli official has said. According to the official, there is a "small advantage" in the cabinet for the opponents of such an attack. Netanyahu and Barak recently persuaded Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who previously objected to attacking Iran, to support such a move.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered to stop the transfer of the bodies of 84 Palestinian terrorists to the Palestinian Authority at the last minute on Monday, despite earlier confirmation from the IDF Spokesperson's Office that the transfer would go through. Barak made his decision to hold off on the transfer after a Haaretz report revealed that two of the bodies to be returned to the PA were the Awadallah brothers, former leaders of the Hamas military wing, who were killed by Israeli soldiers near Hebron in September 1998. The defense minister explained his decision, saying it was important to weigh...

Barak: Dagan's comments on Iran hurt Israel's ability of deterrence The defense minister criticized former Mossad cheif Meir Dagan for saying that a military strike on Iran would be a 'stupid thing.' Defense Minister Ehud Brak criticized on Monday comments made by Israel's ex-Mossad chief, who said a military strike on Iran would be a "stupid thing." Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's comments "hurt Israel's ability to deter" Barak said during an interview with Israel Radio. "Any ability to disperse the ambiguousness surrounding the issue of Iran" hurts Israel's standing against Iran, the defense minister said. Barak said that the...

National Union Chairman MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) warned Sunday that Defense Minister Ehud Barak intends to launch a wave of demolitions of Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria. The evictions could begin as soon as Monday, he said, citing inside information leaked from the Defense Ministry. “Barak is a bad man who hates the Jewish settlement enterprise on Judea and Samaria,” Ketzaleh said. “[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu must rein him in immediately.” He also called on Netanyahu to fire Barak because of his policy of evictions.

I saw a note slide across the #TCOT feed on Twitter last night that mentioned Michelle Obama had no law license. This struck me as odd, since (a) she went to school to be a lawyer, and (b) she just recently held a position with the University of Chicago Hospitals as legal counsel — and that’s a pretty hard job to qualify for without a law license. But being a licensed professional myself, i knew that every state not only requires licensure, they make it possible to check online the status of any licensed professional. So I did, and here’s...